Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were an English rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid-1970s. They are best known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name. Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Glam years 1.3 Post Hunter years 1.4 2009 reunion 1.5 2013 dates 2 Personnel 2.1 Timeline 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Mott albums 3.3 British Lions albums 3.4 Compilations and live albums 3.5 Singles 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History Early years Mott the Hoople can be traced to two beat bands from Herefordshire in the early 1960s. The Soulents were from Ross-On-Wye, and boasted Pete Overend Watts on guitar, and Dale "Buffin" Griffin on drums. The Buddies were from Hereford, and featured Mick Ralphs on guitar and Stan Tippins on vocals. By 1966, Ralphs, Tippins, and Watts (the latter now on bass) had come together in a band called The Doc Thomas Group, and soon secured a residency at a club in a resort town in Italy. The group was offered a recording contract with the Italian label Dischi Interrecord, and released an eponymous album in January 1967. By 1968, drummer Dale Griffin and organist Verden Allen had joined the band. Although the group toured and recorded in Italy as The Doc Thomas Group, their gigs in the UK were played under the names of The Shakedown Sound and later, as Silence. Silence recorded demos at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, which were shopped to EMI, Polydor, Immediate and Apple with no success. The group came to the attention of Guy Stevens at Island, who liked the group but not with Tippins as lead singer. Advertisements were placed ("Singer wanted, must be image-minded and hungry"), and Ian Hunter was selected as lead singer and piano player. Tippins assumed the role of road manager.1 While in prison on a drug offence, Stevens had read the Willard Manus novel Mott the Hoople about an eccentric who works in a circus freak show, and decided to use it as a band name.1 Silence reluctantly agreed to a name change following their early 1969 audition for Stevens.1 The band's debut album, Mott the Hoople (1969), recorded in only a week,1 was a cult success. Their repertoire included cover versions of "Laugh at Me" (Sonny Bono) and "At the Crossroads" (Doug Sahm's Sir Douglas Quintet), and an instrumental cover of "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks).2 The second album, Mad Shadows (1970), sold poorly and received generally negative reviews. Wildlife (1971) fared even worse, and flirted with an overtly country-hippie stance and accordingly (usually) acoustic instrumentation. On 10 October 1970, Mott the Hoople and Bridget St John were showcased on BBC Two's Disco 2.3 Even though the group was building a decent following, Brain Capers (1971) failed to sell well. The group decided to split following a depressing concert in a disused gas holder in Switzerland.1 When combined with an aborted UK tour with The Lothringers, the band was close to breaking up. Glam years David Bowie had long been a fan of the band. After learning from Watts that they were about to split,1 he persuaded them to stay together and offered them "Suffragette City" from his then yet-to-be-released Ziggy Stardust album.1 They turned it down. Bowie also penned "All the Young Dudes" for them and it became their biggest hit.1 Released as a single in July 1972,4 it was a success in the UK, with the band using Tippins – who by this time was their tour manager – to sing backing vocals during concert. Bowie produced an album, also called All the Young Dudes, which included a Mick Ronson strings and brass arrangement for "Sea Diver", sold well but stalled at No. 21 in the UK Albums Chart.1 Late in 1972 they were going to record another Bowie song, "Drive-In Saturday",needed but their intended arrangement did not satisfy him and their professional relationship effectively ended.needed Another casualty in the wake of All the Young Dudes was Verden Allen, who departed before the release of their next album, Mott.1 Mott climbed into the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart,4 and became the band's best seller to date in the US. It yielded two UK hits, "Honaloochie Boogie" and "All the Way from Memphis",4 both featuring Andy Mackay of Roxy Music on saxophone. "All the Way From Memphis" is also featured in the movie, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Mott the Hoople's new-found popularity ultimately contributed to the band's break-up, likely exacerbated by an exposé in New Musical Express of Tippins' role in singing the chorus of "All the Young Dudes", from a hidden microphone backstage.needed In May 1973 following Verden Allen's departure the band was augmented by two keyboard players. Former Love Affair and Morgan member Morgan Fisher joined as keyboardist1 and Mick Bolton joined on Hammond Organ. Bolton left at the end of 1973 and was replaced on tour by Blue Weaver, while Fisher stayed on to become Allen's official replacement in the band. Ralphs left in August 1973 to form Bad Company and was replaced by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor.1 For contractual reasons, he changed his name to Ariel Bender at the suggestion of singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul for his stint with the band.1 According to Ian Hunter, interviewed in the documentary Ballad of Mott the Hoople, the band were in Germany with de Paul for a TV show when Mick Ralphs walked down a street bending a succession of car aerials in frustration. De Paul came out with the phrase "aerial bender" which Hunter later suggested to Grosvenor as a stage name.5 In 1974, Mott the Hoople toured America with Ariel Bender playing lead guitar. In one of Bender's earliest performances with the band they played the Masonic Temple in Detroit on 12 October 1973 with a young Aerosmith opening the show. They were primarily supported on the '74 tour by the band Queen. This tour later provided the inspiration for Queen's 1975 single "Now I'm Here", which contains the lyrics "Down in the city, just Hoople and me." The song became a live favourite of Queen fans and reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart.6 The tour resulted in a lifelong friendship between the two bands, with Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson and David Bowie performing "All the Young Dudes" at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. Morgan Fisher went on to play piano on Queen's 'Hot Space' tour in 1982, and Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor performed backing vocals on the Ian Hunter solo song, "You Nearly Did Me In". May would later cover Mott's "All the Way from Memphis" on his solo album, Another World, with Hunter making a guest appearance. Mott the Hoople are name-checked on two other hit singles. Reunion's 1974 single, "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me), " begins with the lyrics, 'B Bumble and the Stingers, Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singers...'.7 Whereas R.E.M.'s, "Man on the Moon" begins with 'Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...' In the afterglow of The Hoople (1974), a live album Live was quickly released, after which Mick Ronson replaced Bender.1 The end was near when both Hunter and Ronson left the group to form a duo; following which the band abbreviated its name to 'Mott'.2 Hunter's book Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star about the day-to-day life on the band's 1972 winter tour of the US, covering the ups and downs of life on the road,1 was published in June 1974. It was out of print for many years but was reissued in 1996.8 Post Hunter years The new line-up consisted of Watts, Griffin, and Fisher along with lead guitarist Ray Major (formerly of Opal Butterfly, Hackensack, and a brief stint with Andy Fraser and Frankie Miller) and frontman Nigel Benjamin. This line-up released two more albums, Drive On (1975) and Shouting and Pointing (1976), both of which sold poorly.1 After Benjamin quit in 1976, Mott briefly replaced him with Steve Hyams,9 before joining forces with John Fiddler (formerly of Medicine Head), and became British Lions, recording two albums, British Lions (1977) and Trouble With Women (posthumously released on Cherry Red Records 1980) before finally splitting up without any chart success.1 Hunter and Ronson worked and toured together sporadically until Ronson's death in 1993.1 Hunter has continued his solo career. In 1990, after a brief reunion in 1989, the former members of The Silence reunited in the studio to record a mix of new songs and staples from their days performing together. The resultant album, Shotgun Eyes, was released in 1998 as 'The Italian Job' combined with the re-release of the Doc Thomas Group's self-titled album.10 In 1996 K-tel released a CD called The Best of Mott the Hoople purporting to be re-recordings of the band's hits and new songs by Hunter and Ronson. In actuality, the recording was by a Danny McCulloch and Gerry Chapman (usually going under the band name of The Trybe), consisted of heavy rock versions of Mott's hits and original songs, and had nothing at all to do with the original Mott the Hoople. K-tel were subsequently fined for supplying goods with a false description, but the tracks and album continued to circulate under the name Mott the Hoople, often appearing on compilation albums. In 2002, the tracks were released again as I Can't Believe It's Not Mott the Hoople!, though this time it was credited to The Trybe. On 16 and 17 April 1999, the first and only 'Mott The Hoople Convention' was held at the Robin Hood Pub in Bilston, Wolverhampton, England. Hunter and his band performed both evenings of the convention. During the encore of the Ian Hunter Band's performance of 17 April, Hunter was joined onstage by Bender and Allen for a version of "Walkin' With A Mountain"; Allen performed on the original studio version of the song, whilst Bender performed an extended solo during performances of the song on Mott The Hoople's 1973–74 tours. In 2002 and 2004, Ralphs toured with Hunter, as part of the latter's backing band. No Mott the Hoople reunion occurred prior to 2009, although negotiations for one were attempted in 1985; all parties have shown some interest at various times in the idea over the last 30 years. In 2005 it was reported in the publication Classic Rock, that Hunter had received the offer of a seven-figure number to re-form the band. In October 2007 at Hunter's concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire, he was joined by Ralphs and Allen for the encore. 2009 reunion Mott the Hoople reunion, 2009 On 16 January 2009, it was announced that the band would be re-uniting for two concerts at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, in October 2009.11 According to Hunter's web site, all five of the original members would participate in the reunion. Hunter wrote, "Why are we doing it? I can't speak for the others, but I'm doing it just to see what it's like. Short of war, death, famine etc. ...it's ON."12 Tickets for the two original dates sold out, and a third date at the same venue was added for 3 October 2009. After that one sold out as well another two dates were added on 5 and 6 October. The special limited 3 CD-set recorded during the first show at Hammersmith Apollo was sold directly after the concerts. Mott The Hoople also held a warmup gig prior to their five-night stand at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in October. The show was held at the Blake Theatre in Monmouth, Wales on 26 September 2009. Prior to this it was announced that because of the poor health of Buffin, his place for the concerts would be taken by Martin Chambers, drummer of The Pretenders,13 though Griffin did appear at encores. The reunion was favourably reviewed by major British broadsheet newspapers, with The Guardian,14 The Times15 and The Independent awarding 4/5 stars16 and The Daily Telegraph awarding 5/5.17 On 27 November 2009, Mott the Hoople played The Tartan Clefs charity night in Glasgow.18 2013 dates Mott the Hoople (featuring Allen, Hunter, Ralphs and Watts with Martin Chambers on drums) played the O2 Arena in London on 18 November 2013,19 preceded by dates in Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester (the latter of which was recorded for a limited edition CD/DVD). One critic described the concert at the O2 Arena as "a bit of a slog" and Hunter's voice as "now little more than a guttural rasp".20 Unlike the 2009 reunion, which was very much a "greatest hits" tour, the 2013 series of concerts heavily featured album tracks. Personnel Classic line-upPete Overend Watts – bass guitar, vocals, guitar (1969–1980, 2009, 2013) Dale "Buffin" Griffin – drums, backing vocals, percussion (1969–1980, 2009; died 2016) Ian Hunter – vocals, guitar, piano, bass guitar (1969–1974, 2009, 2013) Mick Ralphs – guitar, vocals, keyboards (1969–1973, 2009, 2013) Verden Allen – organ, vocals (1969–1972, 2009, 2013) Later membersMorgan Fisher – keyboards, backing vocals (1973–1980) Ariel Bender – guitar, backing vocals (1973–1974) Mick Ronson – guitar, backing vocals (1974; died 1993) Ray Major – guitar, backing vocals (1974–1980) Nigel Benjamin – vocals, guitar (1974–1976) Steve Hyams – vocals, guitar (1976; died 2013) John Fiddler – vocals, guitar (1976–1980) Touring members21Mick Bolton – organ (1973) Blue Weaver – organ (1973) Martin Chambers – drums, backing vocals, percussion (2009, 2013) Discography Main article: Mott the Hoople discography Albums Mott the Hoople (1969) – UK No. 66 / US No. 185 Mad Shadows (1970) – UK No. 48 Wildlife (1971) – UK No. 44 / US No. 207 (bubbled under) Brain Capers (1971) – US No. 208 (bubbled under) All the Young Dudes (1972) – UK No. 21 / US No. 89 Mott (1973) – UK No. 7 / US No. 35 The Hoople (1974) – UK No. 11 / US No. 28 Mott albums Drive On (September 1975) – UK No. 45 / US No. 160 (Sony/Rewind 487237 2) Shouting and Pointing (June 1976) (Sony/Rewind 489492 2)2 British Lions albums British Lions (February 1978) – US No. 83 Trouble with Women (recorded 1978, released May 1980)2 Compilations and live albums Rock and Roll Queen (1974) Live (1974)22 Mott The Hoople - Greatest Hits (1976) Two Miles from Heaven (1980) London to Memphis (1991) Ballad of Mott The Hoople – A Retrospective (1993) Original Mixed Up Kids – The BBC Recordings (1996) All the Young Dudes: The Anthology (1998 triple CD box set) Rock 'n' Roll Circus Live 1972 (2000) A Tale of Two Cities (2000) Two Miles From Live Heaven (2001) Mott the Hoople Live – 30th Anniversary Edition (2004) Family Anthology (2005) Live Fillmore West (2006) Fairfield Halls, Live 1970 (2007) In Performance 1970-1974 (2008) (4-CD box set of Live concerts, published by Angel Air Records) Old Records Never Die: The Mott the Hoople/Ian Hunter Anthology (2008) Hammersmith Apollo – 1 October 2009 (January 2010) (triple CD box set; Indie Europe/Zoom) Live at Hammersmith Apollo 2009 (May 2010) (double CD box set; Concert Live) Singles "Rock and Roll Queen" / "Road to Birmingham" (October 1969) "Rock and Roll Queen" / "Backsliding Fearlessly" (January 1970) "Midnight Lady" / "It Must Be Love" (October 1971) "Downtown" / "Home Is Where I Want to Be" (December 1971) "All the Young Dudes" / "One of the Boys" (July 1972) – UK No. 3 / US No. 37 "One of the Boys" / "Sucker" (January 1973) US No. 96 "Sweet Jane" / "Jerkin' Crocus" (March 1973) – (not released in the UK) "Honaloochie Boogie" / "Rose" (May 1973) – UK No. 12 "All the Way from Memphis" / "Ballad of Mott the Hoople (26 March 1972 – Zürich)" (August 1973) – UK No. 10 "Roll Away the Stone" / "Where Do You All Come From" (November 1973) – UK No. 8 "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" / "Rest in Peace" (March 1974) – UK No. 16 / US No. 96 "Foxy, Foxy" / "Trudi's Song" (June 1974) – UK No. 33 "Saturday Gigs" / Medley; "Jerkin' Crocus" – "Sucker" (live) (October 1974) – UK No. 41 "All the Young Dudes" (live) / "Rose" (December 1974)24 See also List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States List of former Island Records artists List of glam rock artists List of performers on Top of the Pops References 1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia (1st ed.). London: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 282. ISBN 0-85112-072-5. 2.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 671–2. ISBN 1-84195-017-3. 3.Jump up ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 217. CN 5585. 4.^ Jump up to: a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 381. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 5.Jump up ^ Ballad of Mott the Hoople documentary, c. 39:30 6.Jump up ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 444. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 7.Jump up ^ "Lyrics for "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" @". Lyrics007.com. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 8.Jump up ^ Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star, Ian Hunter: Amazon.co.uk (Independent Music Press; ISBN 1897783094; ISBN 978-1897783092). Retrieved 24 March 2013. 9.Jump up ^ "Steve Hyams RIP | News | Classic Rock". Classicrockmagazine.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013. 10.Jump up ^ Perkins, Adrian (2005). "Doc Thomas Group LP/CD: "The Italian Job"". Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter – The unofficial site for Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 11.Jump up ^ Mott The Hoople to play two anniversary shows – NME.com 12.Jump up ^ "Ian Hunter's official website". Ianhunter.com. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 13.Jump up ^ "Mott The Hoople news". Mottthehoople.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 14.Jump up ^ Alexis Petridis (2 October 2009). "Mott the HoopleHammersmith Apollo, London". Guardian. UK. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 15.Jump up ^ Mott the Hoople at Hammersmith Apollo 3 October 2009. The Times. 16.Jump up ^ "First Night: Mott the Hoople, The Apollo, Hammersmith". The Independent. UK. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 17.Jump up ^ Perry, Andrew (2 October 2009). "Mott the Hoople: Hammersmith Apollo, review". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 18.Jump up ^ "Mott the Hoople storm Tartan Clefs". Clashmusic.com. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 19.Jump up ^ "Ian Hunter's Official Site". Ianhunter.com. Retrieved 23 April 2013. 20.Jump up ^ Gittins, Ian (19 November 2013). "Mott the Hoople – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2013. 21.Jump up ^ "Mott the Hoople Biography". Musicianguide.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 22.Jump up ^ Dave Thompson. "Live – Mott the Hoople | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2013. Mott the Hoople (a novel by Willard Manus) ISBN 0-7351-0377-1 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mott the Hoople. Official web site Information on the fake Mott the Hoople recordings Harris, John. Mott the Hoople: The dudes abide, The Guardian, 3 September 2009. Review of Mott The Hoople at Hammersmith, October 2009, Classic Rock Revisited Category:English rock music groups Category:Glam rock groups Category:Island Records artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2009